Bike patrolman, student pilots rescue kitten

  • Published
  • By Joe B. Wiles
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  On July 3, a lost kitten decided to hide in the engine compartment of a Honda CR-V parked in the 71st Operations Group parking lot.

At 10 a.m. it was already 73 degrees and would climb to 93 by afternoon.

The kitten's hiding place was heating up fast, and it began to wail.

A group of junior officers were on their way to the Base Auditorium to attend the graduation ceremony of Class 14-11. As they passed the Honda, 2nd Lt. Matt Krussow heard the kitten.

He called 2nd Lt. Stephen Crump and 2nd Lt. Billy McCarthy over to listen.

They both heard the kitten and decided the graduation could wait.

Then along came 2nd Lt. Louis Tenebruso. Armed with coffee creamer, he attempted to coax the kitten out of its hiding place. The kitten wasn't buying the plan.

A call to the 71st Security Forces Squadron Base Defense Operations Center brought Staff Sgt. Kentavius Morton to the scene. He accessed the situation, ran the plates to find out the owner of the Honda, and immediately called in Senior Airman Emilio Leos, a member of the tactical-bicycle patrol.

From a small town near Redman, Oregon, Leos grew up with both dogs and cats. He knew the sound of an unhappy kitten.

"One of the lieutenants on scene knew the Honda owner," said Leos. The owner was in Washington state taking survival training.

The lieutenant got hold of someone who knew the owner, who then contacted the owner, who then called a person at Vance that had a key to the Honda.

"Forty-five minutes later, the key showed up," said Leos.

When the hood was raised, the kitten retreated deeper into the engine well.

But, Leos managed to scare the little beast toward the waiting hands of Krussow.

"I took it from him just as the hissing and scratching started," said Leos. "We located a cardboard box, cut some air holes, and secured the kitten inside."

A member of Class 15-11, McCarthy, thought the kitten would make a good companion for Jet, a 2-year-old cat that lives with McCarthy and his wife, Amber-lee.

So he took possession of the tabby kitten.

After a trip to the Enid Pet Hospital that afternoon, where the kitten was pronounced a healthy 6-week-old male with a minor cold, McCarthy took him home and named him "Rudder."

Jet and Rudder are getting along, said McCarthy.

"They play all day, sometimes a little rougher than Rudder would like, but for their first week together it's going great," said McCarthy.